Optimal HDR setup for oled pannels?

[RandomRolls]

I recently picked up a new oled monitor and was confused about how to setup HDR? 
 

I have HDR / Auto HDR enabled in windows 11. Works and turns on with most of my games. But there is a toggle in games settings for it as well. 

Do I stack Auto HDR + in-game HDR? Or just one or the other? I am confused 

[Eigenvektor]

Auto HDR is intended to provide HDR in games that do not natively support it. If a game has a native HDR implementation, that should normally be better (but not always). So basically use one or the other, whichever looks better to you.

[GuiltySpark_]

HDR and AutoHDR can be on at the same time, you don't need to keep going in and turning one or the other one. The only time I get a popup that AutoHDR is running is in games that don't natively support it, and even then not all of those. 

 

Enable HDR in Windows, set your preferred SDC content brightness (for my C2, that's down at 10%) then the required step is to run the HDR Calibration Tool available in the Windows store. https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N7F2SM5D1LR?hl=en-US&gl=US 

 

In games, if they support HDR, enable it.

[RandomRolls]

9 minutes ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

HDR and AutoHDR can be on at the same time, you don't need to keep going in and turning one or the other one. The only time I get a popup that AutoHDR is running is in games that don't natively support it, and even then not all of those. 

 

Enable HDR in Windows, set your preferred SDC content brightness (for my C2, that's down at 10%) then the required step is to run the HDR Calibration Tool available in the Windows store. https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N7F2SM5D1LR?hl=en-US&gl=US 

 

In games, if they support HDR, enable it.

My main game (Destiny 2) auto-hdr turns on, with the in game setting off. Recently played the new Cyberpunk and it does the same thing. I wasn’t sure if both should be running 

[GuiltySpark_]

1 minute ago, RandomRolls said:

My main game (Destiny 2) auto-hdr turns on, with the in game setting off. Recently played the new Cyberpunk and it does the same thing. I wasn’t sure if both should be running 

I've never seen this and I've had AutoHDR enabled for a year now. Enable in the in game HDR and restart the game?

[Andrewtst]

7 hours ago, RandomRolls said:

My main game (Destiny 2) auto-hdr turns on, with the in game setting off. Recently played the new Cyberpunk and it does the same thing. I wasn’t sure if both should be running 

I will off auto HDR, auto HDR is mechanism did by Windows to force enable SDR games as HDR. Most of them never look good.

 

Your Games behave this I think is due to you didn’t enable HDR in Windows and certain games will think you don’t have HDR display and the HDR enable will be gray out.

 

But then enable HDR in Windows normally make the desktop washed out and doesn’t look as good as in SDR. Due to this, I will set Windows in SDR mode but using shortcut key to turn on when needed. The shortcut key is  Windows+Alt+B.

[GuiltySpark_]

25 minutes ago, Andrewtst said:

But then enable HDR in Windows normally make the desktop washed out and doesn’t look as good as in SDR.

This is odd. My desktop looks like complete trash in SDR mode but HDR is fantastic. I have to leave it on all the time to have a decent picture (which is fine, swapping it on and off is annoying)

[Andrewtst]

4 hours ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

This is odd. My desktop looks like complete trash in SDR mode but HDR is fantastic. I have to leave it on all the time to have a decent picture (which is fine, swapping it on and off is annoying)

Not for me, need to adjust slider to make it look ok but still not perfect, after long see also feel tired on white background, for example during surfing internet.

 

So I now prefer stick with SDR since not many games is SDR. As for movie wise I normal watch at TV, so no issue. As for local file, I use Plex which can auto switch, no issue either.

 

Following is monitor I used before or still in used and in either  I also prefer SDR in desktop mode.

 

• Samsung Odyssey OLED G9
• LG OLED Flex
• Asus ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ
• Samsung Odyssey Neo G9
• Samsung Odyssey Neo G8

For MacOS no issue, but Windows 11 implementation still not that great.

[Stahlmann]

Auto HDR is supposed to bring an HDR-like experience to games that don't natively support HDR but you can also use it in games that natively support HDR. If you turn on HDR in the game, then it is running in the native and real HDR implementation. If you turn it off in game or the game doesn't support it, you're running in Auto HDR.

 

However, Auto HDR is nothing more than simply brighter SDR content, so in my experience most of the time it just comes out too bright and doesn't deliver any actual HDR "wow-effect". Here is another recent post i've made on another thread that goes into more detail on why i don't use Auto HDR personally and what i do instead to get the most out of SDR and HDR games: